The Scales of a Mermaid
by Airgelz
Summary: Dermashia is a world of myth and fantasy. Dwarfs, elves, spirits, werewolves, almost anything you could imagine is there. But when simple villager Annabeth meets Percy, a mermaid, her life is plunged into a world a world of chaos, destruction, and, most importantly, love.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **

**'Kay. So here's my first fanfiction. Some Constructive Critisism would be _really_ helpful, but please, no flames. Also, tell me what you think of it so far. It's only the prologue, but I hope it's worth reading.**

Dermashia was a world of fantasy and myth.

Dwarfs, elves, werewolves, vampires, mermaids, you name it; they were all in Dermashia.

Seeing one of these magical creatures meant good fortune and luck for at least another year.

Annabeth Chase hade more than enough of her share of luck if that was true, then.

o0o...PaGeBrEaK...o0o

The sounds of clanging reached young five year old Annabeth's ears as she skips merrily along a hill. Pausing, she listens, and then followed the noise towards a few rocks toward the bottom. Peeking through, she see's man hammering away at an anvil.

Except it wasn't a man.

No, he was a dwarf. Not one of the short and stubby ones, but rather powerful ones. His black skin glistened with sweat, and his muscles bulged from his tiresome work.

Under his hammer, a small necklace began to take shape. The chain of the necklace made of gold and intricate designs, and dozens of gemstones adorned it. As she watches in amazement, Annabeth could help put gasp as held the finished product in the air.

When he glances sharply at her, she knows her cover is blown.

However, to her surprise instead he kneels down on and beckoned her forward. She steps closer nervously, as her parents had always told her to stay away from strangers. Once close enough, he then drapes the necklace around her neck, much to her delight, and she gives a squeal of joy. Then, surprising them both, she leans in and kisses him on the cheek.

"Thank you," she says seriously, and then goes bounding away, eager to show her friends her new acquirement. The dwarf, after getting over his initial shock, just laughs and goes back to work.

o0o...PaGeBrEaK...o0o

The full moon shone down brightly against the strawberry-dappled fields. A lone figure walks home between the rows of ripe strawberries, its red cloak billowing in the night wind. It pulls its hood back to inspect a strawberry.

The figure is none other than Annabeth.

Now seven, Annabeth is given more responsibility to help around the farm. She often helps tend to the animals, and in her spare time she picks ripe fruits from the gardens.

A sudden howl jars her out of her thoughts, and she looks up to see a boy.

A boy whose figure slowly is melting into a wolf.

Not caring that she's dropping much of her fresh fruits, not caring that she's trampling most of them underfoot, she runs home and doesn't slow down till she reaches the safely of her house.

o0o...PaGeBrEaK...o0o

She's turning twelve today.

She should be indoors celebrating, or at least having a good time. But the truth is, despite the fact that she has lots of friends and admirers in the village, despite the fact that she's got a ok family compared to others, she'd rather take a walk in the forest. It's her way a celebrating.

She spots a flash of light, and her first thought is that its lightning, but then she realizes it's to sunny for there to be any lightning, and plus, it was way to close.

Peering from behind a tree, what she sees takes her breath away.

There's an elf fighting an imaginary enemy, except she's so grace full she looks like she's dancing. Blonde hair whips through the wind as her dagger whisks through the air, her movements clear and precise. She's so fast that she's literally nothing more than a blur. More than once Annebeth jumped back in fright that she will slice her in half.

Then the elf stops, her head cocked to the side, listening, listening to something that Annebeth can't hear. Then, faster than a bullet, she darts away.

Annabeth is about to leave when she spots something glimmering on the ground. Creeping closer, she allows herself to get a good look at it.

Her dagger.

Should she take it? Should she leave it? Something like this was undoubtedly good quality and worth much, but what happened if the blonde haired elf was to return?

She waited around for a while, but when she never reappeared, Annabeth pocketed the weapon. She had the feeling it might be of use later.


	2. A Day in the Life

**A/N: So you're prbably wondering why I'm editing intead of updating. Sorry about that, it's just that I found I write better in third person, not first. And I have a whole lotta other excuses, but you probably don't want to hear them.**

**Disclaimer: I disclaim that disclaiming to disclaim a disclaim of disclaiming a disclaimer... This is getting confusing. Let's just say I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**Oh, And who else burst into tears at the end of Mark of Athena?**

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

The sound of fighting seeped into Annabeth Chase's ears and she groaned, struggling to focus on the book she currently had laid in her lap.

"_Daad!_ Bobby won't give my toy back!" Matthew Chase, one of her half-brothers, shouted.

"What if it isn't your toy?" Bobby, the other twin and half-brother protested.

Finally, Fredrick Chase poked his head out of his study. "Annabeth, honey, could you stop the fight? I'm busy with work."

She bit her lip to keep from complaining. As the king's advisor, he clearly had a lot of work, but still, couldn't he help around the house a bit?

"Bobby, give Matthew back the green dragon," Annabeth ordered, "and you can play with the red dragon."

He whined, "But I don't_ like_ the red dragon!"

Sighing, she buried her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. Helen, her stepmother, rushed down to Annabeth's aid.

"If you don't like it then you can either share it, or go find something else to play." Helen's voice left no room for argument. Glumly, the boys nodded.

"Good." She smiled approvingly. "Oh Annabeth, are you alright?" She tried to be nice, but Annabeth could tell that her kindness was only for Fredrick's sake.

She turned to her and gave her a meek smile, "Yeah, I think I'll just go for a walk."

She nodded sympathetically, "All right, if you need me, I'll be at the village market with the boys."

"'Kay."

* * *

The sun beamed down at the Earth as Annabeth gently shut the door behind her before heading towards the village market.

Tiny children scampered along the cobblestone road, giggling and shrieking with laughter as the chased each other. Women sat outside their houses, washing clothes. A few carriages trotted past carrying royals as men hastily made their way to the village square.

Just another normal day in the village.

Annabeth briskly strolled past multiple brightly colored stalls, listening to arguments echoing as consumers haggled for prices. She pushed her way past a throng of people, headed for the beach, when she heard a shriek.

"Thieves!"

She whirled around to see the head of the armory, Clarisse, pointing angrily at two identical looking boys, whom Annabeth recognized as Travis and Conner, the town crooks.

"You stole a dagger!" she snarled at them, slowly advancing upon the still-grinning boys. "Give it back!"

"You have no proof of that," Travis (at least that's who Annabeth though it was) smiled smugly.

"You!" Annabeth jerked back as Clarisse jabbed a finger at her. "The stole it, didn't they?"

By now a slight crowd had gathered, watching the fight.

She answered truthfully. "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know what happened."

Giving a huff of annoyance, she stormed away and slammed the door shut behind her, Travis and Conner grinning cheekily after her. Annabeth simply continued on her way.

"'Ello, Frank!" Annabeth waved to the young Chinese man trotting down the streets. His father was a general in the military, so they knew each other fairly well. They had become friends when everyone else refused to get close to them, as they were much too afraid of their fathers.

"Annabeth!" Frank greeted her, "It's been so long! I was just headed for the bakery. Would you like to join me?" He held his arm out to her in an exaggerated fashion. Annabeth laughed.

"Why, I would love to!" She mock bowed to him, before linking arms with him and skipping through the market together.

* * *

The doorbell chimed as a breathless Annabeth and Frank stumbled into the bakery, disturbing the peaceful silence.

"Did you _see_ his face-"

"Absolutely _hilarious_!"

They dissolved into another fit of giggles as they recalled the look on Octavian's face when they had bowled into him as they chased each other through the village square. Octavian was another one of the king's advisers. Although he was known for being the youngest, the scrawny and lanky blonde boy also had a reputation for being despicably persuasive.

Frowning, Frank paused and stood up, taking a deep breath of air. "I smell pastries!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Honestly, you smell out food like a blood hound."

Sure enough, the baker whirled out of his kitchen, carrying a delicious tray of lovely looking pastries.

"Oh, not you two again!" he shook his head fondly, a small smile forming at the edge of his lips. The pair looked at him innocently. They had a tendency to barge into the bakery and buy some of the strangest things, like silkworm pie, or chocolate cricket cookies. Once, they had even asked for tiger bread (The baker refused to make it though). They claimed they were 'testing his ability to bake' although they really just enjoyed watching his expressions.

"Know what crazy thing do you want me to make?" Annabeth grinned at him.

"Nah, we decided to let you have a break! I'll have a normal piece of bread and Frank," she glanced over to the Chinese boy who was currently salivating over a rack of pastries on display, "he might end up buy the whole bakery."

* * *

Eventually, Annabeth and frank parted ways, as Frank's father wanted to see him. Alone, Annabeth head towards the beach.

Soon, the bustling town melted into soaring cliffs with large waves crashing into them. The gravel under her feet became smooth and silky sand, while seagulls soared in the skies above.

Warm breeze that smelt of salt and sand ruffled Annabeth's dress and hair, and she closed her eyes, soaking in the rays of sunshine, enjoying the feeling of the water lapping at her toes. Squatting down, she began to sift through the sand, searching for some seashells.

She stopped.

_That doesn't look like a shell…_

Narrowing her eyes, she shifted away some more sand before she finally realized what it was

A hand.


	3. Of Strangers and Tails

**A/N: Yaaaayyy... I edited chapter 2 too. So now, I ****_may_**** start writing chapter 3. I ****_may_**** procrastinate (again). I dunno. I'm a unsure little girl. I'm probably gonna do it whenever I have free time, like today, cause my school took the day off since it's gonna snow today. (Ha! Snow in Georgia. Pfft. They already delayed school once since there was supposed to be black ice. Yeah, ****_supposed_**** to be.)**

**Disclaimer: I hearby pledge that I do not own Percy Jackson, otherwise the Olympians would have turned into unicorns.**

**OPPA GANGAM STYLE! Enjoy, everyone.**

Falling on her butt, Annabeth instinctively scrambled back. Realizing that she was overreacting, she peered through the water, getting a closer look at the hand.

_It's just a hand. It's just a hand. It's not like it's gonna reach out and suddenly grab you by the neck and drown you… No, Annabeth, don't think about that._

Gingerly, Annabeth grabbed a hold of the hand and began to pull. The weight of it clearly told her that it was still attached to a body, that it hadn't been severed.

As she continued to tug the arm, it wasn't soon before the rest of the body slithered out of the sand. The first thing she saw was a mop of black hair, then a surprisingly young face. It occurred to her that this boy wasn't much older that her.

However, as Annabeth continued to yank the boy out of the water, she found he was naked. _Oh dear gods…_Her face flushed red with embarrassment, she looked away, pointedly ignoring his lower body.

Once she managed to drag him out of the water, she checked for a pulse. Surprisingly, it was still there, and going strong. Even more stunning, he was breathing! Annabeth was more than a little bewildered by that.

She thought about bringing the unconscious boy to Apollo, the village healer, but waved the thought away as soon as it came. He would be too busy, and plus, she knew enough to take care of him herself (and, truthfully, she didn't think she could bear listening to another one of his horrible haikus again).

Still, should she be able to revive him, she would need the proper medicine and tools, which was stored at her house. There was absolutely no was that she would lug him through the streets- imagine, the king's advisor's daughter, hauling an unknown and unconscious boy- that would arouse far too much suspicion. Going through the woods was probably not a good idea, either. Normally, she could easily flee at the first sign of danger, but the lifeless boy would not help at all. Should a creature come, they'd be surely devoured. She might as well be chained to a tree screaming "Free food!" at the top of her lungs and it wouldn't do much better. But they were her only choices, besides leaving him to die here, and she wasn't that cruel. So, through the woods she went.

* * *

After more than a few close encounters with creatures determined to chow her head off, Annabeth managed to drag the stranger to her house. The house was, thankfully, empty, as her father was in a meeting with the king, and Helen was most likely still shopping with the boys.

She pulled him into the bathroom, as he had clearly not drowned, so he must have passed out from a wound or injury. He was covered in dirt and sand though, so she would have to rinse him off in order to check.

After preparing the tub (Annabeth was ever so grateful of the fact that they had a working tub and they didn't have to get a bucket and fill it up with stream water like the beggars did) she plopped the black hair boy in before propping him up so that his arms were on either side of the tub, keeping him up the that his head was above the water. There was absolutely no way she would wash him off; she decided to let the water rinse him clean instead.

Closing the door behind her, Annabeth headed towards the kitchen for a sandwich, all the while mulling over everything in her head. He would be fine in the bathroom, as Fredrick was always holed up in his study, and Helen preferred the cleanliness of her own restroom. The real problem would be Matthew and Bobby, those nuisances, but they could be easily keep away by convincing them that there was a giant warthog that breathes fire and eats little boys for lunch inside. However, she wasn't sure what she would do with him after he had healed.

She was shocked out of her reverie when there was a shriek and the vicious sound of things clattering. Bolting out of her chair in fear, she realized the sound had come from the bathroom.

Running towards the room, she came to a screeching halt in front of the door.

"Hello?" Annabeth knocked tentatively on the door.

More items clattered to the floor. "D-Don't come in!" cried a fearful voice

"Why not?"

"Y-You don't want to see me like this!"

Annabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Come on, I've seen you naked. Not much can get worse that that!"

She didn't wait for a reply. She was already pushing the door open.

Then she froze.

Toiletries were strewn all over the room, and dimly, she thought about how long it would take to clean the room up. But honestly, that was the least of her worries.

"I _told_ you not to come in," the boy sulked in a childish manner, glaring at her with stunning sea green eyes as his tail flicked in irritation.

That's right, his _tail._

No longer did he have a pair of legs. From his hips down, he had a fish tail. The scales were a mixture of green and blue, depending on the way the light reflected on it. The fins of his tail were a translucent light green.

Annabeth swallowed. Taking care of this boy just got _a lot_ harder.


End file.
